Missing Piece
by Raven Forgotten
Summary: The Doctor and Donna get a message from Jack; which turns out to be far more than anyone expected. Will the Doctor be able to protect the Earth, his friends, and, most importantly, his past?
1. Chapter 1

A regular morning in the Tardis. Well, considering they were flying through the vortex outside of time, it couldn't really be considered morning. Though, the two on board, since just waking up, well, the human at least, the other had been up for quite a while longer, they considered it morning.

"Where should we go to this time?" the Doctor asked, dancing around the controls, attempting to keep the cabin shakes to a minimum.

"You're asking me? Aren't you the one with all the know-how?" Donna questioned with a smirk. "Besides, you know we always go where you or this crazy ship of yours want to."

"Oh, that's not fair! We've gone places you've picked; haven't we?" the Doctor said, directing the last bit to the ship, giving the console a pat. "Remember, we went to that spa."

"No. I've been asking to go to a spa; we've never actually gone."

"Right." He rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I've been looking. I've actually thought about going to this one; the planet is completely exotonic, not a thing capable of living there; but they've set up this little tourist destination: spa, tours, little shops, and a shuttle ride to a waterfall made of diamonds."

"Are we actually going there or have you something else in mind?"

"We've just got a few quick stops to make first."

Donna groaned, leaning on the rail for emphasis. "Alright. Lay it on me; what is it?"

The Doctor pulled out his psychic paper, flipping it open and showing her. "I got a message."

Doctor,

We require your assistance;

there's a surprise in it for

you.

Jack ;)

"Who's Jack?" Donna asked, "and is that a winkey face at the end?"

"Ah that's Jack for ya; he's an old friend of mine."

"Ooooooo. What kind of friend, Doctor?"

"Not like THAT!"

"I'm just kiddin' around!" She nudged him. "Come on, let's get this over with."

* * *

><p>"So, can you help me?"<p>

"Depends on what you're asking," Jack flirted, but was only replied with a look. His smile dropped slightly. "Right. Look, I'm not even sure what it is. I don't know what you want me to do with it."

"I don't want you to do anything with it; I want you to contact the Doctor."

"See and there's another thing. If you've met the Doctor then you know how to contact him; so why are you needing to go through me? If find you incredibly suspicious; sexy, but suspicious."

The comment seemed ignored. "He left before I could get a chance to reach him again. When I bought this thing I asked around if to see if anyone knew him; they all thought I was mad; they said Time Lords didn't exist. So I switched gears and asked if anyone knew someone with knowledge of devices like this. They thought I was mad about that too, but whatever. Anyways, your name came up, several times. Someone said you were on Earth; so here I am."

"There you are." There was a pause. "Well, I suppose I could call him. It's not like he doesn't have time. I just hope we're not wasting it by making him look at this pile of scrap."

"It's not scrap; I told you what it is."

"That's not the way it's looking, sweetheart."

"Just message the Doctor."

Over in the next room the Tardis's noise echoed loudly in the nearly empty warehouse. Jack stood and sprinted over to it.

Inside, a final shudder finally brought the Tardis still once more.

"Are we there?" Donna asked, who was still holding on the railing.

"I think so," the Doctor said, "Let's go have a look!"

The Doctor ran down the ramp and pulled on his coat, almost forgetting that Donna was even there. He paused and waited for her before opening the doors and stepping out.

"Doctor!" Jack shouted, reaching the two and lunging towards the Doctor for a hug. The Doctor stood there, giving a quick pat on the back before pushing him off.

"Hello Jack. What's this big suprise you got for me?"

"Oh, what's the fun in a surprise if I don't hold it from you?" He noticed Donna, giving her a quick smile. "Hello."

"Hi-hiya," Donna giggled, instantly melting; the Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Aren't cha going to introduce us, Doctor?"

"Right..." He still had that look. "Donna Noble." He waved a hand and waved it back. "Captain Jack Harkness. Jack." He repeated the motion the other way. "Donna."

"He didn't tell me you were a captain." Donna took a step closer.

"I certainly am."

"Can we get on with this?" the Doctor interrupted, stuffing one hand into his pocket and motioning out the door with the other. He waited for a moment before wandering off without them.

"Wait Doctor! I haven't filled you in yet!" The Doctor had already gone into the next room, which turned out to be already inhabited.

"Hello Dad!"


	2. Chapter 2

Hours earlier...

The irritating screech of an alarm clock sounded and was quickly shut off using the snooze.

Ten minutes past far faster than Simon had wished for and all too soon the alarm sounded again. He clicked it off again and reluctantly dragged himself out of bed. Why did interviews had to be so early in the morning?

After a quick shower and a light breakfast, he grabbed his equipment bag and headed out, deciding to walk and give his hair a chance to dry. He didn't really expect that he'd need his bag, but his camera rarely left his side and today was going to be no exception.

He was hopeful about this new job; well, hopeful that he wouldn't get fired over his clumsiness again, his last one ending up with the boss with a crotch full of hot coffee and a dry-cleaning bill for an obscene amount. He'll still be a cameraman; though, unlike the last place, this broadcaster was much smaller, more local, and with luck that meant they were much more forgiving.

Simon reached the building and went in. There was a small lobby: two couches, a coffee table, reception desk, the basics. Seeing coffee on a small table in the corner, Simon gladly poured himself some. He checked the appointment with the receptionist and sat on one of the couches. He was called in a few minutes later.

"Mr. Kersley, Ms. Williams will see you now."

"Thank you," Simon said, sounding way more confident than he was actually feeling. He stood and was led down a narrow hall to a door labeled "Williams". This was the do-or-die moment; he could still screw this up. Expecting the worst, he opened the door and stepped in.

"Simon Kersley? Please take a seat."

_"She seems nice enough..._" Simon thought.

* * *

><p>"Hello Dad!"<p>

Nothing that went through the Doctor's head was making sense.

_"Jenny? Alive? That can't be. There's no way! I saw her die. It can't...no...It's insane. Regenerate? No. No. She was too much like me, a paradox. It couldn't happen. Martha said she was dead... Then again... No. She was dead. Well... Maybe...? No. But she's here? It's not even possible!"_

When he finally did speak, it was far from an actual greeting. "Wa-What... Jenny?"

Jenny seemed a bit confused by the stammer, "Yeah Dad?"

By this time, Donna and Jack were already caught up.

"No way!" Donna shouted.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked.

Donna approached the Doctor, taking a sleeve and saying a bit softer, "Doctor, how is that even possible?"

"I'm not sure," the Doctor replied, not taking his eyes off Jenny.

"How 'bout you ask me?" Jenny questioned, sounding a little annoyed, "instead of staring at me like I'm some sort of ghost?"

"Jenny, how are you here?" the Doctor asked.

"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Jack shouted.

"But you died! You can't just come back to life and end up here!" Donna exclaimed to her.

"Well you're in the wrong crowd," Jack commented half-under his breath.

"I obviously did..." Jenny answered. "Though, I don't think I ever really "died", more like a minor shutdown, but with a bit more yellow." She was sounding very Doctor-like. "But, if you're asking how I got here as in 'Earth', I hitched a ride."

"What do you mean 'a bit more yellow'?" the Doctor asked.

"I woke up with chest pains and was burping up some sort of yellow stuff." She shrugged, but appeared a bit embarrassed. "Heh- Weird, right?"

"Not at all really..." The Doctor approached her, pulling out his sonic and scanning her.

"But that sounds like-" Jack started. "Doctor, is she-?"

"Not quite," the Doctor interrupted, finishing his sonicing and examining it.

"What do you mean not quite?! I'm just as much as a Time Lord as you! You said so!" Jenny said.

"Your bio-structure is telling me otherwise. "You seem to have a few misplaced genes; only getting half-regenerations... I suppose that's to be expected."

"Oh, who even cares?" Donna jumped in. "Honestly Doctor, Jenny comes back and the first thing you do is sonic her?"

"Well it's a bit too good to be true! She could have easily been something else!" the Doctor started, he turned to Jenny. "But, seeing as you are genuine. I suppose I could put down the sonic." He smiled, giving the sonic a click and putting it in his pocket. Jenny returned the grin and went in for a hug though, unlike Jack's, and much to his notice, the Doctor returned this one.

"So...Time Lady," Jack said, nudging Jenny after the hug. "How about you help me check that one off the list?"

"Hands off, Jack," the Doctor warned.

Jack put up his hands. "Alright Doctor, I get it; last of your species and all."

Before he could even recognize the horrified expression on the Doctor face, Donna's hand was already making contact with the back of his head.

"Ow!" His hand flew up to the spot. "What the hell was that for!?"

"Do you know how absolutely disgusting that is?!"

"Why?! What's the matter?"

"That's his_ daughter_ you idiot!"

"How exactly was I supposed to know that?" He used the other hand to motion to the Doctor. "And when did that happen? More importantly, who's this lucky lady that cut in front of me!"

"That's not how it happened!" the Doctor shouted a bit louder than necessary, his face a little red.

"Wow...I thought you said you two weren't like that," Donna smirked.

He made a face. "Absolutely not; and that topic is the last thing I will ever discuss with anyone." He sighed, wiping a hand down his face and taking a moment to recollect. He motioned to Jenny. "She's a Progeneration Clone. Created from splitting cells into a new organism. She's technically only a month old."

"That's all I needed to know. Don't get yourself so worked up Doctor," Jack said, chuckling and giving him a pat on the shoulder.

The Doctor sighed. "If we could please just get back to our original topic."

"Oh right! I haven't even sent the message yet." He pulled out his own paper and mentally wrote the note, putting it back into his pant's pocket when he finished. "There we go! All set. The item is in the next room; I'll drag it out for you if you just want to wait."

Jenny spoke first when Jack left the room, looking quite doe-eyed. "Dad, what was Jack talking about that made you upset?"

For a very rare moment, the Doctor was lost for words. "Uhhh...well...Donna!" He quickly spun around to her. "Donna this is...girly...stuff...you do that! I'm- i'm gonna go help Jack."

"Oi! You're the dad; you do it!" Donna shouted, but the Doctor had left far too quickly to hear any of it. She focused back on Jenny, groaning. "Why did they choose weapons over_ that_ when they programmed you?"


	3. Chapter 3

Jack pushed the short object to the center of the room, the Doctor following.

"Ta da!" Jack presented, kicking the metal box in front of him.

The box was a little over a meter high, metallic, with a tarnished dark grey colour, and completely beat to hell. There were dents and scratches on every side and corner. In some places, huge holes had been punched through it, though nothing inside could be seen.

"What the hell is that supposed to be?" Donna asked, wondering what kind of loon would call the Doctor just to examine a beat up metal box.

Jack explained, "Jenny thinks it's a-"

"Tardis," the Doctor said flatly. He took a few steps closer and crouched down, pulling out his sonic again.

"Yeah. How did you know?" Jenny asked.

"'Cause it is," the Doctor said as he flipped his screwdriver off and stuffed it back into his coat pocket.

"There's no way!" Donna stated. "How could you even get into it?"

"I have to agree; it's just scrap," Jack said.

"Oh, she's just a little beat up is all," the Doctor said back, standing up.

"Then why is it a box?" Donna asked.

"Doesn't know what to be yet. Besides, if she's damaged, appearance isn't exactly a priority."

"See, I told you Jack," Jenny said with a smug smile.

"What are we gonna do with it?" Donna asked.

"Before we start anything," the Doctor instructed. "We should get her with my Tardis; she's probably very unsettled and it should put her at ease some."

Jack went back to the cube again and pushed it into the room they began. Upon seeing the cube, the Doctor's Tardis hummed excitedly.

"So this is your ship then?" Jenny asked, standing in front of the Doctor's Tardis. "I can see why you two didn't think mine was real." She looked over at Donna and Jack.

"What do we do now?" Donna asked.

"Well, the presence of another Tardis should have calmed her down enough that I can open it without it locking up...or worse," the Doctor said walking closer to the cube.

"How are you gonna do that?" Jenny asked, also stepping closer.

"It'll take some energy, but all I should have to do is touch it, then make it what I want it too. Nothing too fancy; don't want to cause more damage."

The Doctor placed his hand on the battered cube and immediately a bright, yellow light poured through the holes, the Doctor's eyes glowing the same. Slowly, the cube began to stretch into a battered prism, a crease appearing just three centimeters from an edge and running around the face, creating a frame.

The now rectangular Tardis slowly stopped glowing. When the light was completely gone, the Doctor took his hand off but quickly caught himself back on it, obviously a bit worn.

"You all right?!" Jenny asked.

"Fine," he said, pushing himself off once more with a huff. "She just needed a bit more energy than I hoped for, and I'm getting too old for that." He righted himself and now was standing without having to lean, though it was an obvious effort. "Let's see what we've got here." He pushed the cut-out panel and opened the door.

The Tardis was just as beaten on the inside as it was on the out.

Bigger on the inside, this one was much smaller than the Doctor's console room. Through the rubble and fallen wires and beams, they could see the main controls that also looked similar to the Doctor's. It had six panels going around a main tube, but the panels were smaller and the tube looked to be two tubes twisted together that, if operational, would weave around each other. Other than that, the group could not see much of anything else; the only source of light was what was coming from the door and the small green glow coming from the console.

"A 316. Very nice," the Doctor said, trying to make his way through the debris.

"316?" Jenny asked, following.

"Type of Tardis. This type was popular when I was a boy, really kind of a luxury thing though..." He was lost in his thoughts. "Should be safe enough, once we get it fixed."

"You're gonna fix it?" Jenny asked.

"What kind of Tardis do you have, Doctor?" Jack asked, making his way over the stuff to the next relatively clean spot, "Comin' over Donna?"

"I'm fine here, thank you. I don't feel like trying to kill myself today," Donna replied.

"I have a type 40. Old thing. Dated even for the Time Lords, but she's reliable; well, when she needs to be," the Doctor said, now turning to face Jenny. "And not just me Jenny. If this is going to be your Tardis you should help out with some of the work. You two should at least get to know each other."

"You mean I can keep it?" Jenny asked.

"Well, I certainly don't need another one, and it's not like there are any Time Lords to come claim it." He paused, looking the ship over. "I don't see why not." The Doctor smiled.

"Thank you!" Jenny screamed, attempting to leg it the rest of the way but catching her pant leg and falling.

"Watch yourself!" the Doctor warned, meeting her and pulling her up. "And you're welcome. Now!" He rubbed his hands together. "Why don't we get started?"

The Doctor crossed to the controls and started flicking whatever glowing switches he could find until it started to hum.

"Looks like we got something."

A beam of light shot out and began to take shape.

The woman in the hologram looked to be in her late 20s or early 30s, but that was likely not the case. When she first appeared, the Doctor made a quick chuckle, recognizing her face, though his smile quickly faded as the message began to play. When the woman began to speak, three of the four became immediately confused, not understanding what she was saying.

"Mayday, I require assistance from the Gallifreyan High Council. The mission has been compromised. I repeat: The mission has been compromised. This is pilot 97412 requesting help." The Lady stopped as a loud rumble could be heard though the message and the hologram flickered. "Please!" She was sounding more panicked. "I need help! The other pilots have been killed. My Husband...I am the only one left and they're moving fast! I have tried to get back into the vortex but our Tardis-" The rumble noise was stronger this time. "Our Tardis has been damaged. If anyone is getting this transmission-oof!" The hologram flickered once more. She turned around. "No! Stop! Please!" the sound of others yelling was the last thing heard before the woman screamed and the transmission cut off.

Even though Donna, Jack, and Jenny couldn't understand what she was saying, they could tell that something was horribly wrong. The Doctor, having understood the entire thing covered his eyes with this hand and leaned back on what was left of a railing.

"What was she saying Doctor?" Donna asked.

The Doctor removed his hand and looked up, his face stoic. "Nothing. Just a poor soldier who didn't make it away from the mission. Nothing to worry about now." The Doctor flipped a few more switches and turned back around. "There! All gone! Nothing to keep on your minds now." He didn't really seem to be addressing them.

"At the beginning...you seemed like you knew her," Jenny stated.

The Doctor stopped what he was doing, leaving a gaping hole in the conversation before starting again. "Yeah...old friend of mine...always wondered what happened to her after she disappeared. Guess I know now." The Doctor gave a short, one hearted laugh. "Out of all the Tardis's you could could've found..."

"I'm so sorry, Doctor," Donna apologized.

"No use crying over it now. She's been gone for 700 years. Old news." His voice changed to a fake cheeriness, "And all that time this poor thing's been rotting!" He slapped the controls. "Let's bring her back to life!"

"Well, as long as you're all right," Donna said.

"Yup, perfectly fine! Come on, Jenny! Help me with this," As he tried to move a post.

"Here, I'll help with those," Jack said, going over and assisting him so he could get under the console.

"I should probably get some tools from my ship..." the Doctor thought out loud.

"Why don't we just take a break?" Donna suggested. "I can put on the kettle and we can all catch up."

"And I can see the inside of your ship!" Jenny exclaimed, dragging the Doctor up and exiting the Tardis.

For the next hour or so, the Doctor showed Jenny around, even creating a room for her. When lunch was ready, they gathered in the kitchen area to eat.

"...so after I left Messaline, I tried to learn about Time Lords and all that. For some reason, any database or library I checked I kept getting directed to the fantasy or lore sections, and I still didn't find much. The only two things the stories could agree on was that they could travel through time and that Gallifrey was destroyed in this huge war that affected the entire universe. Some of the books directed me to other planets' histories that were affected by the Time Lords; I didn't like looking at those. So what actually happened, Dad?" Jenny said, leaning forward in her chair.

"Maybe later," the Doctor said in the 'I'll tell you when you're older' voice, never looking up from his tea.

Jenny pouted, leaning back. "Anyway, I found the Tardis completely by accident. The ship I stole needed a new booster so I ended up in this market. Luckily they were having a parts auction that day. We were allowed to look at all the stuff beforehand; that's when I noticed that box. I couldn't really put my finger on it at the time, but I felt like I needed to do everything I could to have it. I ended up trading my entire ship for that box." Her face drooped a little. "Afterwards I felt really stupid; I noticed that some people were pointing and laughing, even the woman filling out the paperwork for me couldn't keep a straight face. It wasn't until when I used the it as a table to sign on and actually touched it did I realize what it was; it was perfectly clear...Is that weird?"

"As weird as burping yellow," Donna said, now motioning to the Doctor. "But to spaceman over there I'm sure it's perfectly normal."

"It wouldn't be normal if you didn't notice," the Doctor stated, engaged now. "What's odd is that it took a physical touch for you to know. Time Lords should be able to sense the presence of a Tardis whether it's theirs or not."

"Is there something wrong with me?" Jenny asked, quickly concerned.

"I wouldn't worry about it. Probably just another thing that got a bit wonky in the Progeneration."

"Speaking of," Jack piped in. "How did you exactly end up with a clone daughter anyway?"

"I'm not a clone!" Jenny retorted.

"Well...in a sneaky, 'round-about way, you technically are," the Doctor corrected. "But Progeneration is the rearrangement of DNA instead of the replication of in cloning. As for the wonky bits, considering I have twice as many chromosomes as a normal human, the machine probably couldn't sort out all that information as quickly as it needed without making a few small clips. If you were really wrong, we would have seen it already. So, like I said, nothing to worry about."

Jenny still looked like she would worry, wringing her hands around her cup, but pretended otherwise and changing the topic. "So...what did you guys do?"

"Ohhhh, this and that," Donna took over, "nothing as exciting as we usually do."She nudged the Doctor. "He missed ya too much to think of anything fun."

"Oh, and what happened to Martha?"

"Went home. She was there by accident anyway," the Doctor said.

"Can we go see her sometime?" Jenny asked.

"You can all wait for that," Jack ordered. "She's all wrapped up with UNIT; them and Torchwood aren't exactly on the best of terms. Something about," he used quotation marks, "'overstepping boundaries' and 'not at all procedure'; she called me all in a fuss."

The other three raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask for any details.

"We'll call her later, after we get Jack out of harm's way, of course," Donna said sarcastically. She looked down at her mug. "Is everyone done with tea?"


	4. Chapter 4

700 years ago...

"If anyone is getting this transmission-"

A slam sent the woman flying into the console. The heavy door fell, rocking the entire ship; droves of people flooded through and surrounded the woman.

"No! Stop! Please!" the woman begged; but her pleas were ignored. One of the intruders raised his gun, firing. She screamed, raising her hands to cover her face, but the shot wasn't for her. The bullet hit the console, cutting off her transmission and any way of sending for help.

She made a break for it, though in vain as one of the soldiers grabbed an arm and zapped her with an electrode rod. She grunted, falling to her soldier pointed a gun, waiting for orders. A third soldier approached, though, according to his uniform, he was a much higher rank than everyone else.

"Please! We were only trying to help!" The woman cried.

"In return for what?" The decorated soldier questioned, but he wasn't waiting for an answer."Don't think for a minute we don't know what you people are trying to do. We know what's coming. Trying to create favors in order to save your own arses isn't going to help any. And for something you caused almost three centuries ago!" He chuckled. "I have to say, if it weren't for you bugs' constant harassment, seeing you stoop to such pathetic grounds would be very refreshing."

"I- I don't know what you're talking about!" the woman responded.

The man kneeled to look her in the eye. "You really don't, do you? Is Rassilon keeping the oracles all to himself?"

A moment of silence passed before she spoke again. "Why don't you just kill me already?"

He grinned. "You must be so confused. Truth is-" He stood. "You're more valuable to us alive than dead; believe me, if I had my way, you would already be staining the floor. We just want information."

"I won't tell you a thing. You'll just kill me anyway."

"Smart one aren't you?" He slapped her in the face. "Remember, we still have this ship of yours; it would be a shame if someone were to come across it."

"Nothing I tell you will make any difference!"

The man sighed. "And to think your life could have ended so much differently... That's the problem with you Time Lords: far too proud to save even yourself." He turned, the wall of soldiers parting to create a path. "We have nothing more to do here, finish her."

The woman didn't cry.

The soldier raised his gun.

Bang.

* * *

><p>Present day...<p>

"How are the rations keeping in the third sector?" a female said, sitting at the head of the table.

"Not well," a man replied just off to the left. "Though the sudden population rise would normally be a positive affair, what little is left of our food supply is spread far too thin."

"And the relocation of the victims from the radiation pocket of sector two?"

"Were moved to sector three..."

She sighed, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips. "Is there any possibility to send the sector two victims to the fourth?"

Another man spoke up on the right. "Sector four might as well be a dead zone! There's too much ash and static to make radio contact. No one is for certain whether or not those inhabiting the area are even alive!"

"Why wasn't I informed of this?" "

High Commander if I may," a woman spoke to her. "Our ships are ready to go. They're strong enough to last a year without needing to stop. If we could just load the civilians-"

"Even assuming your ships work!" the man on the right cut in. "There is no way we could organize such a large task without at least a week of planning and I don't think any of us believe that this rock's going to last that long!"

"Enough," the Commander demanded. "You didn't allow her to finish." She looked to the woman. "Please continue."

"To calm the General's concerns, we do have a plans made. In fact, I took the liberty of sending the ships to the remaining sectors. Loading should have already commenced."

"Why wasn't I addressed in that arrangement!?" the General steamed.

"As you said, we won't last another week here and I have full confidence in my ships."

A man hurried into the room and handed the High Commander a paper.

"There's no need for lies here," he continued. "We all know those scap-made ships won't last for a fraction of the time you say. I for one will not step a foot on them without a proper destination."

"Then you'll be happy to know you won't be left to the radiation, General," the Commander said, just finishing reading the paper. "It seems we do have a suitable location."

"Bullshit."

"You will control yourself General!" She began again, now addressing the man who handed her the document. "I leave the details to you."

"Thank you, Commander," the researcher said. "This morning, we received a native signal from a distant planet. Upon closer inspection of the signal we found that it was a genuine tracker from an experiment centuries ago; it was a surprise to everyone in the lab that it was still functional. We cross-checked the coordinates and found that there is a planet in a habitable location. The core of the planet is active, but stable."

"Is it inhabited?" the woman asked.

"Most likely. The planet is several billion years old and in a state that would promote such intelligent life, possibly with our likeness. But we won't know for sure how advanced they are without a closer inspection."

"But is it worth it?" the man on the left questioned.

The ground heaved. Several pieces of the ceiling fell, luckily landing away from any of them. The quaking slowly subsided into small non-violent tremors.

"I don't believe we have a choice anymore," the Commander said, bringing her arm down that was protecting herself from rubble. "We must evacuate before it's too late. We will just have to be as reasonable as possible with whatever beings we cross."

"I was just about to mention that," the researcher added, picking himself off the floor.

"What do you mean?" "

It seems our tracker had a vessel. We looked into our remaining records and found that whatever came into the atmosphere that was not useful was attached with a tracker and launched back into space. It was hopped that it would be found and brought or crash to a planet that was suitable and...well, it just so happens that this was a very important vessel...and wasn't activated by normal circumstances...and wasn't useful due to its..."

"Spit it out already!" the General pushed, quite tired of all the tedious explanation.

"Tardis," he finished flatly, looking almost relieved to finish. The room went silent. Everyone just stared at the researcher.

"What sort of sick game are you playing with us?" the General demanded. "You dangle safety in front of us and then tell us that those bastards somehow survived!"

"I'm not playing anything!" the researcher declared. "All I said was that the tracker was attached to a Tardis and it was somehow reactivated. For all we know, it could have found a rift to refuel itself...but it is a definite possibility..."

"That's got to be what happened! It's just the ship!" the woman panicked. "They all died! Remember? We could see it! The energy from the explosion! They were all there! All others were killed! Remember!?"

"Please calm down," the Commander comforted, placing a hand on her arm. "It's almost impossible that any of them could have survived. But our planet is dying, we have to take the chance. Can you still command your ships?" The woman nodded. "Great." She turned to the General. "I want you two to work together; we need to be off as soon as possible."

"We'll be gone before the ash storm at dusk," he said.

The all got up and began exiting the room; the General and Commander lagging a bit further behind.

"High Commander," he began, for once, hushing his voice. "What if there are Time Lords present? What will we do?"

The Commander just grimaced.

* * *

><p>"Hand me the subsonic, will ya?" the Doctor said, lying under the console of Jenny's Tardis.<p>

Jenny rummaged around the small bag he had thrown together, which didn't feel as small when she reached her hand in. She had no idea what she was looking for; she barely knew what a normal sonic screwdriver was. She pulled out a clunky-looking version of his regular one. "Is it this thing?"

He brought his head out and adjusted his glasses for a better view. "Yup. Thanks." He grabbed it, ducking back under. The noise that came from it was a much lower pitch than the normal one.

"Need any help?" Jenny asked, squatting down and joining him; she getting quite bored of just being 'tool girl'.

"Nah. You're fine." He reconnected a few wires, making some of the lights on top of the console light up. His face became confused, pushing the same wires away. "What do we have here?" Reaching up, he dislodged something small from the tangle and got out from under the controls.

"What's that?" She asked.

"I'm not sure." He pulled his real sonic out, making it whirr, and checking the readings when it stopped. "Oh that's odd..."

"Something wrong, Doctor?" Donna asked, her and Jack just coming in.

"It's a tracker," the Doctor said, still eyeing the device.

"Looks pretty low-tech to be in a Tardis," Jack commented.

"That's the problem..." He moved it closer to his face, adjusting the glasses once more. "I would almost guess it looks...Ryfaliean. But that can't be right..."

"Why's that?" Jenny asked.

"The Ryfalieans died out almost a millennium ago, way before this could have been created." He thought, flipping the device a few times in his hand; his expression dropped slightly. "Though, I suppose it makes sense, in a way."

"That doesn't make any sense," Donna stated.

"The planet of Ryfalia once existed in the same galaxy as Gallifrey; they weren't quite as old as us but we were practically sister planets: side by side. Over time though, that slightness of age grew much more; we became more advanced, and they grew more resentful. Started projects at a far higher level than they could handle...led them to total destruction."

"How'd that happen?" Jenny inquired.

"They tried to harness the power of a Tardis...and it imploded." He pulled on the edges of the tracker, popping it open, and using the extra force that caused his hands to fly apart as emphasis to his statement. He started poking at the wires inside. "I suppose, if any part of the planet were to survive, it could be possible for this little stowaway here; though in any case they're gone now, with the state of that planet and all."

"So they'd be the ones that killed your friend in the hologram?" Jenny asked.

His eye twitched slightly, responding flatley. "Yeah." He had stopped fiddling with the box and was now blankly staring at it.

"Doctor?" Donna questioned. "You alright?" "

Hm?" He looked up quickly, as if just snapped from his thoughts. He shook his head. "Yeah, fine!"

"Is there something you need to be telling-"

The tracker beeped loudly, causing everyone to take a step closer.

"What's wrong with you now?" the Doctor asked the box, leaning in a bit to see its workings. His eyes widened, throwing the tracker on the floor and smashing it to pieces, and even smaller with his foot, only adding to the excessive amount of rubble on the floor.

"What the hell's with you!?" Jack exclaimed, grabbing the Doctor's arm and pulling him back.

"That's a reconnaissance signal! Somebody's actually following it!" He sprinted out the beat-up Tardis and into his, Donna, Jack, and Jenny following. The Doctor plugged his sonic into a spot on the console and checked the monitor.

"Doctor, what is it?" Donna asked.

"I was too late...the message relayed..."

"Why does it matter? Anyone that could have received it is dead," Jack noted.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair, obviously flustered. He tried adjusting a few settings; when nothing changed, he kicked the console with a frustrated cry. "No! That was a second message! The first one must have sent when I reactivated that Tardis; it only sends a second when it has confirmation from it's source to create a steady course!"

"So we're expecting an all-out invasion?" Jack asked.

The Doctor leaned with both hands on the console, his head down. "Afraid so..."


	5. Chapter 5

Simon walked back to his flat with his head low. He had to bring the damn bag; he couldn't have just left it at home. It's not like he meant to knock the scented candle off the executive's desk...and it was only a small rug fire!

He made his way back to his flat and unlocked the door. "Back to old business I suppose..." he said to himself as he made his way to the computer, turning it on and waiting for it to warm up. "What a piece of crap." It was taking far longer to turn on than he hoped.

When it had finally booted, he got to the Internet and clicked on his "business": .

It was a small site he had come across a few years ago, and then took over about a year ago when the original hosts "disappeared". It basically allowed people from all over the world to post videos or pictures of the strange phenomena and let others debate. Simon himself had posted a few things, but nothing that was actually impressive: which was disappointing considering the constant alien activity as of late.

With nothing new to watch, he clicked off and moved to the TV; the news was on.

"The U.S. NASA team has discovered a large mass predicted to be a meteor shower is currently making its way to Earth and is said to hit the atmosphere in a matter of hours. Due to a poor frequency, they are currently unable to determine the size, but they assure from previous calculations that it is most likely harmle-"

And the power cut off.

Simon groaned, throwing his head back. "There's no way I'm that late." But there was nothing he could do; he'd just have to crash at his sister's again. She'd be pissed, but he supposed he could get away onto the roof and watch the meteor shower...

* * *

><p>The High Commander watched the monitor. She had to admit, she did have some serious doubts about these ships, but they were performing marvelously; she would have to reward that engineer woman.<p>

"High Commander?" a voice said from outside the room.

"You may enter." She turned towards the door. It was the researcher from earlier; he didn't seem too happy.

"Your Majesty, I-" He grimaced and looked to the floor. "I'm afraid there's...been an issue..."

"What is it?"

He rolled the paper in his hands. "The tracker has stopped its signal... We're hoping that it was due to a mechanical failure but now it seems like it's much more likely that-"

"It was destroyed," the Commander finished, turning back to the monitor.

The researcher took a few steps closer. "Commander, what if the Time Lords survived? How many of them could be down there!? What if they know that it's us that sent that tracker and-"

"Wouldn't that be part of your job?" the Commander shot with a smirk, trying to lighten his mood. When it only made him more panicked, she sighed. "I'm sorry. That was...improper of me..." She once more faced the screen, crossing her arms in front of her. "This may not be a comfort, but the Time Lords should be in the same position as we are, without a planet or a home; maybe they could learn to negotiate with...lesser beings."

The researcher looked up, just remembering. "You may have a point!" He seemed delighted to move in front of the screen, making a few adjustments to the map it was displaying. Hundreds of tiny red dots appeared, the largest bunch fogging over their destination.

"What are those?" she questioned.

He smiled, pointing a finger to the haze. "Inorganic satellites! There are thousands of them! A lot of it is junk, but this planet does contain intelligent life, advanced enough to create orbiting, unpiloted crafts to neighboring planets!" He ran his finger over some other dots away from the haze. He chuckled. "We actually hit one just before I left to see you."

"So the Time Lords may be living alongside them? In harmony?" the Commander marveled.

The researcher shrugged. "The natives seem to be eager to meet other life. That craft we hit had a plate of sorts attached that contained information about them. The best part, it had etchings of themselves and we're now using the symbols included to decode their languages; they even included a disk that contained music!"

"To think the Time Lords could live with such open creatures..." she trailed.

"They're probably enslaving those poor bastards as we speak!" a recognized voice boomed from the door.

"General," the Commander said shortly. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to hear that idiot go on about peace-loving Time Lords," he smirked, pushing off the door frame he was leaning on and approaching the two. "Here's the thing." He wrapped an arm around the researcher and directed him back to the monitor. "How long do you think it took to get those outlying satellites to the places they are now?"

"Well of course a number of years, decades even..." the researcher stammered.

"Good. Now how much do you think those people have changed in those decades?"

"Well it depends on a number of factors-"

"Wrong!" the General pushed the man back, who stumbled a few steps.

"General!" the Commander exclaimed.

He ignored her. "Those gullible creatures have only advanced if it convenienced those damn Time Lords! It won't matter how many or few; we know the damage just one them can do! There is no 'peaceful living' with them."

The other two's faces wavered, thinking over what he had just said.

"You're most likely correct," the Commander agreed reluctantly. "But we shouldn't become panicked without complete confirmation that Time Lords still do exist."

"I have your confirmation right here." The General pulled out a scroll and tossed it to her.

She opened it, her eyes widening as she scanned the words. "When did they find this?" She handed it over to the researcher.

"A few minutes ago," he replied. "I went to check in with our big planet finder here only to find he had left his post." He threw a thumb over to the man. "They had just finished dissecting the tracker's signal; I volunteered to pass it over."

"But this means that the energy used to send all of the information to us didn't come from that Tardis, but from a single Time Lord!" The researcher gawked, backing into a chair and falling into it.

"And that can't be from just any 'ol Time Lord," the General added. "They had to be powerful enough to single-handedly re-energize that Tardis...probably one of Counsel members."

"We are completely back at square one," the researcher stammered, slumping further in the chair.

"We might not be," the Commander reassured. "We'll stay in orbit and greet the planet, then make our demands accordingly."

* * *

><p>"So, what's the plan Doctor?" Jack asked.<p>

The Doctor didn't respond, searching for nothing on the controls. He sighed. "I could try to make contact by making a few adjustments to the tracker; though I'd really rather not..." He turned a few knobs on the console, changing the information on the monitor to a map, with its own set of red dots; the sight of them deepened his grimace. "There's the fleet there; much closer than I had hoped..." He murmured the last bit.

"With a good teleport they'll make it here in no time," Jack commented.

"They've made it this far."

"Well that's freaking comforting," Donna remarked.

"Why don't we just talk to them? Isn't that you would do Dad?" Jenny questioned.

"I don't know..." the Doctor replied quietly.

"But I thought-"

"I said I don't know!" he snapped.

Jenny stared at him, astonished. She took a few steps back. "Fine," she said flately, looking away. "If anyone needs me-" She glared back at the Doctor. "-which I'm guessing they won't, I'll be in my room." She stormed off.

Just as silence settled the Doctor kicked the console, making the sound ring throughout the room, and slumped into the captain's chair, holding his temples with one hand, covering his eyes.

"What the hell has gotten into you?!" Donna shouted.

"I'm fine, Donna."

"Well obviously not! There was absolutely no reason for that! It's not her fault that you've been funny since we opened that Tardis!"

The Doctor glared at her through his hand, then looked away quickly. "It's better for right now if she hates me."

"No it's not flippin' better if she hates you! What is wrong with you!"

The Doctor didn't say anything and instead just got up and dashed outside.

She turned to Jack. "Do you have any idea?"

He only shrugged. "We should follow him."

"No. I'll go. You make sure Jenny even found her room."

Donna exited the Tardis and found him in the battered one, messing with the controls. She supposed she should try the gentle approach this time.

"Doctor?"

He didn't respond.

"Why are you in here?"

Nothing.

"Doctor, you're starting to freak us out. You hurt Jenny's feelings. Can you just tell me what's wrong?"

He stopped fiddling and was just staring down; he seemed to be thinking. His hand tapped on the metal base quickly.

He finally he looked up.

"Did you know that pilots were assigned together by family?"


	6. Chapter 6

Donna was baffled by the statement; she did not like where this was heading. "I- I'm not sure I get what you're saying, Doctor."

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck and redirected his eyes firmly back to the console. "If everyone was related, the psychic bond between the ship and themselves would be stronger."

She didn't say anything; he sounded like he was just reciting out of some book.

He continued. "It sounds great in theory of course." He paused, furrowing his brow and beginning to pace shortly from one pile of rubble to the next. "Well, much more than a theory; there had never been a time where it didn't succeed... However, for some, there was a sort of... moral issue." Another pause. "Well, I guess there wasn't so much of a moral issue since they continued to do it onwards..." There was an obvious point of anger in his voice. He stopped pacing and just stood, arms crossed; he seemed to be finished.

After a few moments, Donna was finally was able to catch his eye, the Doctor flinching as he desperately tried to look anywhere but at her.

She tried her best to sound comforting, but there was no hiding the small shred of irritation in her voice. "I think you'd feel better if you just said it already."

The Doctor looked up at her and then back down, thinking. Slowly, he moved back towards the controls and carefully flicked a few switches. A projection took form on the opposite side of the control room. "I found this."

Donna approached closer to the hologram: a static picture of a man and two women. "That's the woman from the first one." She pointed to her on the left.

"Yeah." He joined her. "This was supposed to be the base hologram archives for all the patterning programs, but there isn't any fun in that." He face twitched to a smile for a moment. "She," He pointed to the same woman. "and the boy there," He now pointed to the man in the middle. "they had been married for... well, it had to been nearly fifty years."

Donna made a face before remembering. "Oh, right. I forgot you people lived forever."

The Doctor continued, oblivious to the comment. "The other woman there is his mother." He now pointed to her on the right, who herself, though obviously older than the other two, hardly looked old enough to be a grown man's mother.

Donna knew she had to ask. "Who were they Doctor?"

She expected that, just as he started to look comfortable. His face dropped, taking a step back to lean on the controls, arms across his chest. He gave a long sigh, uncrossing his arms and weakly motioning to the picture.

"My son." He moved his arm slightly to present the older woman. "And... my wife."

As much as she had suspected it along those lines, actually hearing him say it was painful. She joined him, slouching against the console, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Oh Spaceman..."

The Doctor now slumped down the controls and sat on the rubble. "All those years, I didn't know; we didn't know."

Donna said nothing but followed him to the floor, replacing the hand back to this shoulder.

He looked up to the ceiling, speaking like he was talking to himself. "The Council knew... Oh, I'm sure they knew. I inquired for weeks, but they didn't even grant a proper meeting."

"That's... just awful." Her voice was almost a whisper, afraid that if she was too loud, he'd stop talking.

"I was furious... But you can't question the Council..." He almost smirked. "...as much as I tried." He stood suddenly, running both of his hands through his hair. "You know, I may have been a bit of a rebel when I was young, to be only granted counsel when being punished, but I straightened out! Got married, a job, house, started a family, but they wouldn't even allow me basic information! I lose my wife and eldest son and are not allowed an answer!"

Donna stayed sitting; she had no idea what to do, and felt increasingly guilty about it.

The Doctor fumed for a few moments before eyeing the hologram, instantly losing most of his anger. "What's worse, they wouldn't allow the rest of my family and answer. My granddaughter was orphaned in a single day and nothing..."

The last sentence made Donna sit up so fast she bonked her head on the controls. Her hand flew to the top of her head. "Granddaughter!?"

The Doctor flinched, instantly regretting saying so much. He had no idea why he was just spewing everything out for Donna to hear; this wasn't like him at all. He glanced down at her, quickly looking away and replying shortly, "I'm over nine hundred years old Donna."

"Yeah but-" Donna began to counter before noticing the look on the Doctor's face; he didn't feel like sharing any more. "Okay." She stood, still rubbing the top of her head. She decided to change the topic quickly. "What are we going to do about the Ryfalieans?"

The Doctor's jaw stiffened, making Donna realize that she hadn't gotten as far off topic she wanted to.

"I'm sorry, Doctor."

He looked at her, making the first proper eye contact since they left his Tardis. "Me too," he said quietly, moving back towards the console, reversing the order of switches he flicked until the hologram faded.

Donna became worried when he didn't move, trying to lean around the controls to face him. "Doctor?"

The Doctor wiped a hand over his face, standing straighter as he did. "So!" he finally said, the sudden loudness and downright cheeriness of his voice causing Donna to jump. "The Ryfaliean fleet is settling just above the Earth's atmosphere as we speak, which means one of us will eventually have to make the first move." He searched the floor quickly, finding the busted tracking device and scooping up its remains; he made for the door.

"Wait just a second Spaceman!" Donna shouted, lunging over to him and grabbing his arm. "A second ago you were having some of breakdown now you're all hopped-up and ready to go?"

"The Ryfalieans aren't gonna wait for me to invade, well, they might considering my species...but the Earth can't defend itself." He made a move to leave once more but was held fast again by Donna, giving him a quick little shake so he'd face her.

"So what, you're gonna pretend like this is just some everyday adventure? Because that's perfectly healthy."

"Think of it this way Donna: what happened was seven hundred years ago" His voice suddenly became darker, "Ryfalieans can live till eight."

The Doctor had no problem shaking Donna off this time. It was moments like that where Donna felt actual fear towards her friend. She called, "Doctor."

He stopped just as he reached the doorway.

"Let's not do anything stupid okay?"

* * *

><p>Simon had reached his sister's flat. He was right, she was pissed, and after a very loud conversation over the phone with her, she had reluctantly agreed for him to stay. Reaching for the door, he had barely gotten a knock out before it was ripped open and he was thrown into his sister's living room. Obviously startled by this sort of welcoming, Simon tripped over himself and fell face-first over the couch, his face just brushing the seat cushions and his legs in the air.<p>

"What the hell Beth?" He flipped himself off the couch.

His sister was still standing by the door, making sure all the locks were in place. She whirled around. "Oh there's a thousand things I could answer that with! Have you seen what's going on!?" She stormed over to the window and peaked out the blinds.

Confused, Simon settled himself down properly on the sofa this time. "No...?"

She faced him this time. "How can you not? It's all over the news!"

"You mean the meteor shower?"

"Meteor shower my ass! It's another bloody invasion!" She fumbled around the coffee table, finding the remote and unmuting the TV. Sure enough, there wasn't a channel on that didn't have the just recently taken satellite pictures of the alien fleet.

"Perfect time to blow that interview..." Simon said sarcastically.

"What do you mean you-?" Beth started, almost ready to tell him off. "Oh whatever! I'm almost glad you didn't! At least now I know you won't be running off to get a look!"

"You keepin' me on lockdown?"

"I've seen that site of yours; you're crazy enough to do it, there's no way I'm losing you to a bunch of little green men."

Simon huffed; typical Beth; always being far too protective. "Fine, I'll stay...if you'll back me for just one more month."

"There's no way I'm paying your bill again!"

"Looks like I'm bunking with E.T. then," he smirked.

"Don't you dare."

"I will." He held up his camera bag.

"Fine; you still live in the same shit-hole?"


	7. Chapter 7

Quick Message from the Author

I don't do this...ever...but since the growing popularity in this story I decided it was necessary...

I thoroughly apologize for my lack of updating...this has been a hectic few months... Hopefully I will be updating more frequently now.

Back to the story

* * *

><p>"Is everything ready?" the Commander asked.<p>

"The language filters are functioning properly and are connected to the intercepted satellites," the Researcher answered, finishing with his calculations and giving the others the signal to launch.

The General huffed, "I still think you should be transmitting in Gallifreyan."

"They have language filters of their own if need be, General," the Commander retorted, now facing a giant screen. "Let's say hello to Earth."

* * *

><p>The TV screen flickered a few times before fuzzing out completely.<p>

"Oh come on! It's not even raining!" Beth cried, leaning forward and slamming her hand on the side in an completely ineffective attempt to get it going again.

"I'll go check the antenna up on the roof," Simon said, casually standing and then dashing to the door.

"I don't think so!" she shouted, darting in front of the door. "Flight risk, remember? I'm going up." She opened the door. "And if I catch you leaving this flat I'm going to be jumping right off the roof and on top of you. Ya got that?"

"Perfectly." He plopped back onto the couch, discouraged. "I won't move."

Satisfied, Beth stepped out.

* * *

><p>Upon returning to the Doctor's Tardis, the Doctor immediately, well, immediately after Donna dragged him to apologize to Jenny for his rudeness, began piecing the tracker back together, making only a few slight adjustments before attaching it to one of the many parts of the console. The monitor, which Jack and Donna were using catch up on a bit of human television, went blank.<p>

"No! Right when we were about to find who he chose!" Jack cried, frustrated.

"Doctor, I thought you said you got this fixed?" Donna questioned, also a bit annoyed, but not nearly as much as Jack.

The Doctor looked up from his work, glasses on the tip of his nose. "Of course I did!" He put down the bits he was holding and crossed to the monitor. "and is now really the time for you two to be worrying about some- well hold on." His brow furrowed, tweaking the dials again and turning back towards the two. "There's nothing wrong with this screen."

The monitor went to static.

"See? The channel just lost itself."

The static broke and a new picture was displayed. A younger woman with dark hair that nearly grazed her shoulder and dark eyes. From what they could see of her clothing, she wore dark red and black robes with very little detail embroidered. She seemed rather nervous when she started to speak:

"Greetings, beings of Earth. I am-" she paused, clearing her throat and restarting with much more assertion. "I am the High Commander of the Ryfaliean Empire. We are here to discuss a peaceful coexistence between our two civilizations."

Everyone's eyes were practically glued to the screen.

"Well this is the exact opposite of what I was expecting," Jack commented.

"But there's no way! This never happens!" Donna expressed. "This can't be right!"

"What's going on?" Jenny asked, just now appearing from the hall.

The Doctor didn't say anything as the Commander continued.

"I should explain our need for such a proposal: our planet is dead. Our planet of Ryfalia was once a beautiful utopia, full of life and culture, until we were attacked with a blow that wreaked havoc and destroyed our paradise. For centuries we have endured harsh conditions, waiting until we could regain our strength to leave and find a new home, somewhere we could live peacefully once again."

She paused once again, shifting her stance slightly. "Under circumstances no one predicted, we found Earth. We only number just slightly under three million, and our ships can sustain us until we construct a more permanent location. We are willing to work with any form of law currently in place, even if they were once great enemies. We hope for your cooperation and your sympathies into adopting a dying world."

The monitor cut to static again, Jack reached up and flipped it off, everyone else was too stunned to move.

"What did she mean, 'even if they were once enemies'"? Jenny inquired. "Were the Ryfalieans enemies with humans too?"

"There's no way for that," Jack answered. "Unless, they were talking about-"

"Me," the Doctor finished shortly, now furiously trying to complete the tracker upgrades. "They must have somehow traced and analyzed the power source the messages were sent on. Which I suppose is fine, I would have had to confront them sooner or later, there's no way Earth is ready for something as extensive as this, you lot can barely handle a simple threat without blowing them up." He bent down and pulled some wires out from under the console. "I'll have to intervene before any of that happens..." With that, he connected the last two wires and flipped the monitor back on.

* * *

><p>That was insane. The most insane thing Simon had ever witnessed. Sure, there was those few times at Christmas and occasional things everyone for whatever reason just wrote off, but this, there was no denying it, these were real, living, breathing aliens.<p>

He was much too enthralled to call Beth down from the roof, even though the static lifted just moments after she left, and after the alien's speech he knew he had to get close to them somehow, even if it did mean Beth would never trust him again. Picking up the few things he needed, he slipped out of the flat and sprinted down the hall, knowing that his sister would be back at any time.

She was getting off the elevator, making him sidestep quickly to the stairs, but it was too late.

"Where in the hell do you think you're going!?" she exclaimed, already furious.

I was no use lying to her, she was really good with those things...or he was just awful. "The aliens were on the telly! I gonna go check it out!" He opened the door to the stairs and started down.

"You've gotta be shitting me!" She followed him, jumping the last few steps to catch up. "I told you you're not leaving my flat! I'm not gonna be gettin' called by the police sayin' I need to pick you up in a body bag!" She stopped on the next floor down's landing, leaning over the rail.

Simon continued down, calling over his shoulder. "Then don't answer your phone!"

That seemed to broil her. "You stop right there Simon!"

He did, supposing that she deserved that much from him.

Suddenly all the anger was gone from her voice, though she made a real effort to fake it. "I'm not planning another funeral."

Simon sighed, he hated when she got like this. "You're overreacting."

"I have every right to."

"Yeah."

"If anything Simon, be careful, and stay out of sight."

"I will."

He watched as she walked back up the stairs and out of sight before continuing his journey down, a bit more deflated than before.

* * *

><p>"Fantastic job Commander," the Researcher congratulated, spinning around in his chair.<p>

"I suppose that went better than I expected..." the Commander said with a sigh of relief, taking a seat in the nearest chair.

"Wasn't worth shit though," the General interjected. "Time Lords are just watching us squirm. I say we pick up before they destroy us all."

"Though I do not understand your complete closed-mindedness General, I would not mind if you kept it to yourself." the Commander ordered and added, "If the Time Lords were that interested in what two separate species were doing, don't you believe that they would have contacted us by now?"

The Researcher had turned his back to the brewing conflict to busy himself with the computer when he noticed a reading. "Ca-Commander! The tracker! It's-it's back!"

All thoughts on an argument between the two high ranking officials were quickly forgotten as they whipped their attention around to the Researcher.

"How!? You lost signal hours ago," the Commander demanded, standing and bending behind the scientist to look at the data.

"I'm not sure. The signal is not quite the same, it's...distorted"

"Eating your words yet?" the General mocked, only to be disappointed that the Commander did not acknowledge his comment.

"I think there's a message. I'll try to-Whoa! I'm not doing this!"

Text was flooding his screen, bits of data being moved and manipulated faster than it could be read. All other worker's computers lined along the wall also began running with the same occurrence, until even the large monitor used by the Commander ran with it.

"I can't believe he-" Was all the General got out before the command center went dark. The outage though did not last long and power was quickly restored.

"Ah! There we are! Sorry about that. Got a bit overloaded there but couldn't have anyone else trying to phone in. Should be just us now." Said a new voice from the jumbo screen.

"You!" The General snapped, pointing a finger at the Doctor. "You're one of the Time Lords!"

The entire command center gasped, some even began crying.

"Certainly the crowd pleaser here," the Doctor muttered.

"That's enough!" the Commander addressed the room. "Anyone not willing to stay may leave. No punishment will be given."

The room cleared, leaving only a handful of people.

"I apologize," she said, now speaking to the Doctor. "Most of my people are still very afraid of your kind."

The Doctor looked a bit amused. "Your ship is locked from all outside communication, other than me of course, there's no need to continue with that."

"Are you calling our tragic history a work of fiction!?" the General shouted. "You dare insult us still after the damage your kind has caused?"

"Oh you're not talking about that bit about being 'attacked', are you? Because the last I checked, jealousy was not something Time Lords could inflict."

The General looked about ready to implode before the Commander stepped in, pushing him just out of sight on the Doctor's end. "Time Lord, we can discuss our pasts anytime. Right now, I would like negotiate a final peace treaty between the Ryfalieans and the Time Lords."

The Doctor's face dropped a bit. "No, no. It's just me. You won't need any peace treaties."

"It's just you ruling this planet?" The Commander was confused. "Time Lords are much more powerful than I thought."

"No! I'm just traveling, just a visitor. But on occasions like this I do like to...help out a bit. Trust me, Earth is not ready for contact like yours. The situation would not end well for either of you."

"You're not controlling this planet, yet you protect it? Why?!" the General returned.

The Commander threw her hand in front of him to quiet him. "What do you suggest, Time Lord?"


	8. Chapter 8

"What do you suggest, Time Lord?" The Commander questioned.

"First thing's first, Time Lord's a bit too formal, you can just call me the Doctor. Second... before we do anything I'd like to speak with a few of your soldiers, former or current. Oh, let's say, between the ages of 720 and 800?"

The Ryfalieans didn't have a view wide enough around the Doctor, only seeing him glance to his right, to be able to see Donna smack his arm warningly, mouthing, "Don't you dare!" He brushed it off, continuing.

"In the meantime, all ships will remain in orbit. I will fly my own into your commanding vessel and we'll discuss further negotiations from there. So, do we have a deal?"

The Commander tilted her head. "I'm afraid I don't understand, Doctor. Surely you know no one on Ryfalia has lived past 400 in the a millennia... The radiation was far too aggressive. Might I ask what you need to know? Perhaps something in our records can-"

"No no! It's fine," the Doctor interrupted, his face becoming much more relaxed, and slightly disappointed, than before. "It was nothing. I was just... curious about something is all. Forget about it."

The Commander was suspicious, but waved it off. "Very well... but I must disappoint you once more... I don't think it wise to allow a Tardis onto our ships. I apologize, but I don't believe I can put that much trust in you just yet. Would you be willing to allow one small ship to land and we can discuss on equal grounds?"

The Doctor thought it over. "Alright, I'll allow it. But a small ship! An escape pod if you have to." He looked down from the screen and began adjusting the tracker, still embedded into the console. "I'm sending you coordinates to a safe location; no humans should be able to interfere."

Numbers appeared on the Ryfalieans' screen. "I look forward to our meeting," the Commander said politely, though it was obvious she was still nervous.

"In an hour's time, then?" The Doctor asked.

"An hour's time," she repeated.

The screen went dark, the Commander taking a minute before sighing loudly and speaking. "I think that went rather well."

"I still don't trust the bastard one bit!" the General exclaimed, who had kept miraculously quiet until now, though now he was flooding. "What sort of name is 'The Doctor' anyway? It's obviously a cover. And what was with that bit about talking to all the dead soldiers? What exactly is he hiding?"

"He's a rogue," the Researcher said flatly, still at his computer, working too hard to look away.

"A what?" the Commander asked.

"I've been- looking into records..." the Researcher explained. "Time Lords who commit crimes at a severe enough degree are stipped of their name-right and given titles instead."

This really flared the General. "We're working with a criminal?! We might as well deliver our heads to him now!"

"This is troublesome..." the Commander agreed. "But this could be a blessing, the man has at some point been in opposition to his kind, he may be different."

"Or he could be ten times worse!"

"Please General, is it at all possible for you to find some comfort in our situation?"

"Point out to me where-"

"We may have an advantage..." the Researcher cut in.

Once again their argument was dispersed.

"How so?"

"While you were negotiating, I took the liberty to silently trace the signals back. I have his current location."

"And what could we possibly do with that?" the General grilled.

"The tracker is being transmitted in slightly different wavelength than originally, meaning he must have his own Tardis in addition to the one the tracker originated. If we take his ship, we'll have more leverage for him to comply."

The General's face brightened. "Now you're talking strategy! And I was beginning to think you were some worthless number cruncher."

"I'm going to be taking that as a compliment."

"It's an excellent plan," the Commander added, "but we only have an hour to work out execution."

* * *

><p>The Doctor had just turned off the screen, giving a great sigh of relief when the screen went dark, completely unaware of what was being planned on the other side of it. He relaxed into the captain's chair, slumping back.<p>

Jack chimed in first, "Well they seemed...reasonable... Though, I'm much more interested in your demands Doctor..." Jack's tone became much more serious, "How long ago did you say your friend was killed?"

The Doctor hardly got a warning look out before Donna started in.

"I should say so! You big idiot, I told you we weren't going to do anything stupid! I can't believe you would ask for something like that!"

"Donna please-" the Doctor started.

"Dad, were you planning on getting revenge for your friend?" Jenny asked, though it came out much more like a demand.

The Doctor's head shot up to look at her.

"Exactly what I was thinking, sweetheart," Jack agreed.

"Look, I can explain everything later." the Doctor pleaded, trying to hush them, especially Donna, who he looked at now. "Alright?"

Donna sighed, "Well, at least you know now there's nothing you can really do about it."

"But I still don't understand!" Jenny began. "You'd never-"

"Jenny!" The Doctor got up and grabbed on to her upper arms, holding her in place as he spoke. "Believe me, I promise, after this is all over, I'll explain. Anything you like! Just, let me take care of this, okay?"

She really wanted to argue, but the look on his face was hard to refuse; she nodded. "Okay, Dad."

He still held onto Jenny but looked over at Donna. "Is that alright?"

Donna was still mad at him, but she supposed this was the best, "Alright."

The Doctor let go of Jenny, who started excitingly running around the console. "So what should we do about those aliens?"

"Well," the Doctor said, "We still have an hour before we meet. I suppose I should look for a planet. I plan on taking them somewhere remote where they can be rebuild in peace. No one will bother them, and they won't be able to bother anyone else."

"Where did you say you were meeting them?" Jack asked.

"An abandoned scrap yard not far from here. It's large and secluded enough to meet without interference."

"You're gonna need backup, just in case."

"I'll come!" Jenny offered.

"No." The Doctor quickly shut them down. "I plan on going alone."

"Come on!" Jenny complained. "The Commander is probably going to bring that crazy general guy; you should have someone there with you."

"No. I told them I was the only Time Lord here. I'm not taking the risk in bringing you."

Jack opened his mouth to say something but the Doctor cut him off.

"And I'm not taking any humans either. This really isn't about you anyway."

"Like hell it isn't!" Donna charged in. "Remember where you are? Earth! Home of the human! And don't get me started again about-"

"Okay!" the Doctor shouted. "Just, stay in the Tardis."

* * *

><p>Waiting for the rest of the hour to pass felt like an eternity: Jack and Donna mostly chatting and Jenny hovering around the Doctor as much as she could.<p>

"So," Jack said quietly to Donna, "what exactly did you two talk about while I was off finding Jr.?"

The question kind of took her off guard, and it really wasn't her place to say anyway. She decided to just work around it. "Oh, nothing really. You know him, never opens up to anyone."

"Well something's definitely off about him."

"You think?" Donna said, trying to sound doubtful. "I don't know; he just gets weird sometimes."

"No. I'm pretty sure there's more to this." He looked over at the Doctor, who was showing Jenny various things around the controls. "You think it has something to do with Jenny?"

"Probably, she's his kid and he thought she was dead until this morning." He was getting way too close to figuring it out. "Why don't we see if the Doctor will let us turn the program back on?"

"What do those do?" Jenny asked, pointing to a few low lying levers.

The Doctor, currently reading over several books he had pulled out, looked over his glasses to where she was pointing. "Cabin stabilizers, they keep the hull from shaking during flight." He smirked, "Don't tell Donna that though, the shaky bits are the best part."

"Does my Tardis have stabilizing levers?"

"No, yours is automatic." He noticed the half-disappointed look on her face. "But, if you like, I can change it over to manual."

"I think I'd like that." She stared at the levers a bit longer before becoming more interested in what he was reading, looking over his shoulder. "Have you found a planet yet?"

"I think so, yeah." He laid the book out on the console and pointed to entry. "There, Planet P8Z12 in the Etoris Galaxy. He brought the book around to the monitor, where he typed in the coordinates; the globe showing up on the screen. "There, see? About the same gas percentages as Ryfalia, dangerous radiation levels are only in remote areas. It's a bit smaller in size but it's density should work out any gravitational issues... What do you think?"

"Sound's nice. Can we go there?"

"Not after the Ryfalieans move in."

"Come on, they don't seem that bad."

"There are more interesting places to see."

"I bet! I can't wait till my ship's done, then I can run all over time too!"

"Don't get so excited just yet," he warned, sounding very dad-like, "There are a lot of rules about time travel. You're gonna be traveling with me for awhile."

"Okay," she said, sounding a bit let down, but recovering quickly and adding with a smirk, "as long as you can keep up."

The Doctor let out an exasperated noise. "Oh, is it like that already? Old man jokes!"

"Well you are old!" Her face drooped a little. "I am too though, no one lasted a day on Messaline, let alone a month, and here you are talking about centuries! I'm surprised I even know that word considering all the other things that machine apparently didn't think was important."

At this point Donna and Jack were already eavesdropping on their conversation, Jack now interjecting with the hopes of making the Doctor turn beet red again, "Don't worry Jenny, I'll make sure you get it!"

"That's enough of that Jack!" the Doctor, instantly flustered, countered, his face in a state that Donna couldn't help but giggle along.

The Doctor gave an annoyed huff, desperately trying to think of something he could do, coming to the perfect excuse dismiss himself. "I think I left that bag of tools in Jenny's ship; I'm just gonna step out and get them." He made his way towards the doors, which had been left open to run between to two Tardises.

"Hang on Doctor, I'll go with you," Donna offered, fearing him being alone in that ship.

"I'm fine Donna," the Doctor protested, "Just wait with Jenny and Jack... I still can't tell if Jack's joking."


End file.
